Beck, Weiner duel from a distance

“If Weiner is working with people in Congress or in the White House to try to destroy you, that's not a joke, Beck,” O’Reilly told Beck during a pre-taped segment on Friday’s edition of "The O’Reilly Factor." “Then I have to get involved and defend you,” said O’Reilly, whose combative interviewing style contrasts sharply with Beck’s hyper-emoting showmanship.

Beck has responded to Weiner’s report by defending Goldline, noting that it has an “A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau and pointing out that he urges his fans to be cautious before investing. But mostly he has attacked Weiner, repeatedly steering his fans to a newly created website called Weinerfacts.com that features negative stories about the congressman under a cartoon image of a dancing hot dog with Weiner’s face superimposed on it, and calling on his listeners to submit “pictures of Congressman Weiner with his nose as a weiner.”

On O’Reilly’s show on Friday, though, Beck — speaking to the camera, presumably to Weiner, said, “Please call me to testify. Please? Please. I’ll be so respectful.”

Beck also noted that Weiner’s newly hired press secretary until recently worked at Media Matters, a liberal media watchdog that has accused Beck of crossing ethical lines in shilling for sponsors including Goldline, and asserted that Weiner was targeting Goldline and Beck at the behest of the White House, which has rebuked Beck for his scathing attacks on Obama.

Weiner, in an interview with POLITICO last week, said he hadn’t spoken to the White House about Goldline or Beck and cast his report as a consumer-protection effort.

“This was a report about — if you’re going to buy gold and make an investment, whether you should go to this place Goldline or some other place,” Weiner on Monday told O’Reilly, questioning the host’s motives. “You’re doing exactly what Glenn is doing — you’re being a shill for this company,” said Weiner. “I understand you’re defending this company that advertises on your network. I understand Glenn Beck is your business partner. I get it, but defending someone that gouges consumers, you should be ashamed of yourself.”